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Just so. Jesus established His Church, and proposed its scope to us before a word of the NT was written. Both verbally before the NT, and corroborated by the NT, St. Peter was given the ultimate earthly authority by Christ. His authority IS limited, as he is not God, and is merely the highest authority here on earth in the flesh, until Christ comes in judgment. But until then, St. Peter and then his successors get to umpire the "game" called Christianity, ruling independent of Scripture when necessary if no Scriptural guidance is in the offing.

In the same way, the originators of major league baseball established basic rules to follow, first as a blueprint orally and then in writing, and established the role of umpire to enforce those rules. The umpires are responsible for the conduct of the "game," and are empowered to rule independent of the rules when the situation warrants. They merely represent the authority of the Commissioner (analagous to God here), but their rulings on the field are the final word.

The point is this: no merely human institution - government, corporation or sport - operates without a foundational document. And no human institution supposes that its foundational document anticipates every possible scenario. Neither does God in the foundational document we call Scripture. In this case, all Christian parties would agree that Scripture is both inspired of God and inerrant. Such qualities are useless unless there is a final arbiter or authority over disputes deriving from differing opinions on what Scripture means. Overwhelming precedent exists for the need for such arbiters, both in purely human institutions, and (especially) among Christians in matters of faith. The title of this very thread serves to underscore the point!

"Both verbally before the NT, and corroborated by the NT, St. Peter was given the ultimate earthly authority by Christ. His authority IS limited, as he is not God, and is merely the highest authority here on earth in the flesh, until Christ comes in judgment. But until then, St. Peter and then his successors get to umpire the "game" called Christianity, ruling independent of Scripture when necessary if no Scriptural guidance is in the offing."

Just when did this "earthly authority", "merely the highest authority here on earth in the flesh, until Christ comes in judgment" come about? He is never mentioned to have this authority in the scriptures nor does he display it in the Gospels and Acts. He is never called a "Bishop" nor was he the leader of the Jerusalem church. He had to answer to the Jerusalem church for taking the Gospel to the Gentiles and when miraculously released from prison went into hiding. He dissembled before the delegation from Jerusalem and had to answer for it before the Jerusalem church, the Apostles and the elders. It was James, the brother of Jesus, who was the leader of the church, not Peter. Peter was just one of the Apostles at that time and it was the Jerusalem church along with the Apostles and Elders who sent the letter to the Gentile churches telling them that their way of receiving the grace of God was correct. The letter did not come from the Apostles only, or a council, but the whole church at Jerusalem.

Peter is not heard from in the scriptures after the 15th chapter of Acts except for his letters in which he recommends Paul's letters and of course, Paul uses him as an example of hypocrisy in his letter to the Galatian church.

So again, where in the scriptures do we see Peter exercising this "ultimate earthly authority" this "highest authority here on earth in the flesh"?